You are here

On Campus Employment Information

On Campus Employment

An F-1 student is generally permitted to work part-time on campus while they are enrolled full time in a course of study at HFC and maintaining their F-1 status. On-campus employment does not require the Designated School Official (DSO) authorization. There is no fee, and no authorization from USCIS is required.

Students may work up to 20 hours/week on-campus during the academic year, full-time on-campus during vacation periods (on-campus means work performed on the school's premises). You should visit the Career Services Office on campus if you are interested in working on campus.

Curricular Practical Training (CPT)

An F-1 student may participate in a “curricular practical training program that is:

“an integral part of an established curriculum” and

"directly related to the student’s major area of study.”

Curricular practical training is further defined in the regulations as “alternate work/study, internship, cooperative education, or any other type of required internship or practicum which is offered by sponsoring employers through cooperative agreements with the school.”

Curricular Practical Training is granted directly by a Designated School Official (DSO) in the International Student Services office, located on the second floor of the Welcome Center. The DSO will endorse the student’s SEVIS record and reissue a Form I-20 annotated on page 3 with the name of employer, location and period approved for CPT. Before granting CPT, a DSO must find the student eligible for that benefit, by determining that:

The student is currently in valid F-1 status

The student has been enrolled on a full-time basis for the amount of time required by the regulations

The student will continue to be enrolled for a full course of study during the CPT

The training is “an integral part of an established curriculum’

The training is directly related to the students major area of study

Required Documentation:

Form I-20, passport and Form I-94

A letter of recommendation from a Counselor, or the Associate Dean of the Department that is recommending the internship, coop or other type of practicum.

Optional Practical Training (OPT)

Optional practical training (OPT) is defined as “temporary employment for practical training directly related to the student’s major area of study.” Henry Ford College only offers Post-completion OPT. Post-completion OPT is OPT authorized to be worked after the student's program end date.

Preconditions

Student must have been lawfully enrolled on a full-time basis at a DHS-approved school for one full academic year before being eligible for OPT. Students in English language training programs are not eligible for OPT. Part-time F-1 "border commuter students" are eligible only for OPT following completion of the course of study. OPT must be “directly related to the student’s major area of study.”

Location

Students may engage in OPT for any employer for the duration of OPT authorization; as long as the employment qualifies under OPT standards.

Duration

Standard OPT is available for a cumulative maximum of 12 months per educational level.

Hours per week

For post-completion OPT, according to SEVP guidance, a student must be adequately employed to avoid limits on unemployment.

Field/level of work

Must be directly related to the student's course of study.

Offer of employment

No offer of employment is required to apply for standard OPT, but the student is expected to work during the OPT EAD validity period. Students on post-completion OPT are limited to a maximum of 90 days of unemployment.

Effect on other work

Prior use of full-time Curricular Practical Training for one year or more eliminates eligibility for Optional Practical Training.

Approval process

DSO recommends OPT in SEVIS.

Student files I-765 application

Work can begin only after receiving EAD issued by USCIS, and on or after the start date on the EAD.

The student is required give their employers address and the address they will be staying at during the OPT period.

Any change of address during OPT (student or employer)must be updated with the DSO

OPT Application Steps and Deadlines

After reviewing all required documents and determining eligibility, the DSO updates SEVIS with an OPT recommendation.

The DSO provides the student with a signed, dated Form I-20 indicating that OPT has been recommended.

The DSO will send the completed petition packet to USCIS within the filing deadline.

Filing Deadlines:

The DSO recommendation must be made in SEVIS, and the I-765 and OPT I-20 must be received by USCIS, no sooner than 90 days before the program end date, and no later than 60 days after the program end date.

Since all post-completion OPT must be completed within the 14-month period following the completion of studies, the Employment Start Date for F-1 student post-completion OPT requests may be no more than 60 days beyond the Program End Date.

Visits Outside of the United States and their Impact on OPT

It is important to note that immigration regulations state that students must be in valid F-1 status for one consecutive academic year prior to being eligible for practical training. If you depart the United States for five months or longer, after being in the United States in F-1 status for one academic year, you will not be eligible for practical training until you have spent another academic year in F-1 status. Departures from the United States of less than five months have no impact on this provision.

An F-1 student who is engaged in post-completion OPT and travels outside the United States temporarily (i.e., less than 5 months) can be readmitted to resume employment for the remainder of the period authorized on his or her EAD card, provided that the following conditions are met.

The student presents a Form I-20 endorsed by the DSO within the preceding 6 months

The student presents an unexpired EAD

The student is returning to resume employment (Student should carry employment documentation from employer)

Students approved for post-completion OPT continue to be in F-1 status. They are therefore subject not only to the requirements that they have an I-20 endorsed for travel and an EAD, but to the requirement that they have a valid F-1 visa to re-enter the United States, unless they are exempt from the visa requirement.

Off-Campus Employment

A student may be authorized for off-campus employment under the following circumstances:

Severe, unforeseen economic necessity

Internship with an International Organization

Employment based on the Special Student Relief program

Severe, unforeseen economic necessity

Student must prove to USCIS that employment is necessary due to severe economic hardship caused by circumstances beyond his or her control that arose after obtaining F-1 status. The student can write a statement describing the unforeseen hardship situation and, if possible, should attach backup documentation: for example, a letter from home telling of a change in family circumstances or proof of currency devaluation in the students country.

An F-1 student may be authorized to work off-campus in any job (does not have to be related to course of study ) on a part-time basis after having been in F-1 status for one full academic year provided the student is in good academic standing as determined by the Designated School Official (DSO) in International Admissions. Part time off-campus employment is limited to no more than twenty hours a week when school is in session. A student who is granted off-campus employment authorization may work full-time during holidays or school vacations. The employment authorization is automatically terminated whenever the student fails to maintain status.

You must have made a “good faith" effort to find employment on-campus. If unable to find adequate work on-campus, the student can explain why other employment options are unavailable or insufficient (a simple statement might suffice). Work does not have to relate to field of study.

Internship with an International Organization

Employment based on the Special Student Relief program

Regulations allow DHS to suspend or alter rules regarding duration of status, full course of study, and employment eligibility, for specific groups of F-1 students from parts of the world that are experiencing emergent circumstances. This collection of benefits is known as "special student relief.

The regulatory provisions are generic, and are activated only when DHS makes a finding of emergent circumstances, and publishes a notice in the Federal Register to define the specifics of what is to be suspended, and for whom, and the procedures for how to apply for any benefits that result from the suspension.

The benefits can be understood as a "package" consisting of on- or off-campus work authorization and authorization to reduce one's course load. The reduced course load benefit is only available to students who acquire work authorization through the notice, and is not available separately.